Lazarus gave her more meat without realizing that he was loving that she was eating. No, he was loving that he was feeding her. He wiped the corner of her lips again and unknowingly ate those crumbs.
"I have read about them," he replied. "And the King of Aztec is a dragon rider."
Emma savored the juicy piece of meat and sighed. "If only I could visit Yizinia once in my remaining life…"
Lazarus hated the way she said, 'remaining life'. He gave her water as his jaw clenched. Without another word, he continued to feed her.
"I can't eat more," she said.
"You have to!" he insisted. "You are too weak."
She huffed. "What's the point in over-eating when I will be gone after a few days?"
"Why do you keep talking about dying all the time?" Lazarus snapped. "Can't you live in the present?"
Emma jerked her head back in pure surprise. Even Magnus and Olya went quiet and other than the sound of crackling fire, there was no other sound.
Emma gulped the food down her gut and bit her lip as her cheeks heated a little. "I am—" Suddenly from the corner of her eye, she saw a movement. Soft snow dropped from a pine needle. Perhaps a rabbit. She chewed her bottom lip and lowered her head. "I am trying to, but it is hard…" And then she heard a grunt. She was sure that it was a rabbit or two.
"Let's take you inside," Lazarus said and kept the trencher on the side. He looked at Olya. "I will come out to help you in a while after I settle her. She is too weak."
Olya managed to nod.
He picked up Emma in his arms and took her back to the tent. When he made her lie down, he couldn't help stopping to smooth her hair from her face. As if pulled by her, he leaned in and kissed her lips. He pulled away and when they were merely a few inches apart, he said, "If your mother is alive, we will go to meet her in Yizinia. Ask your dragon if she can take us there."
Emma froze as yet again another surprise bolted through her. What was wrong with Lord Lazarus? Why was he going soft on her?
"I will ask," she said, blinking her eyes once.
He pressed another kiss on her forehead. Before going out of the tent, he tucked her in the furs. "Sleep," he breathed. "You need to recover."
She nodded and watched him leaving their small tent. A smile came to her lips and heat coiled in her belly. She hadn't felt this good in a long time. Was he taking care of her because he wanted to take her in a good condition for Maeve or he was genuinely concerned about her? Many thoughts swirled in her mind and the most important one was that of Nephie. She didn't know when but she drifted off to the fringes of the sleep.
---
She opened her eyes with a jerk when her body seized in the recognition of the same voice, one she had heard in the mirror.
Her eyes opened to the misty darkness as the voice called her. She got up as mist swirled all around her as she walked in the pitch-black night towards the voice that sounded very distant from her. Her chest squeezed as a familiar dull ache formed inside.
"Emmalyn… come here…" The mist around her pulsed and thickened as if trying to take a shape, but they dissipated before they could. The shadows swirled away from her. Emma began to tremble as knots twisted in her stomach.
She whipped her head as she ran to her left. But all she met was with more mist. Confused, she ran back to where she was. Where was Lazarus? Where were Olya and Mgnus?
"They are fine, Emma…" the voice said as if reading her thoughts. A soft light began to grow in the distance.
"Who are you?" Emma rasped, clasping her hands on her sides. She started to walk towards the light. "What do you want from me?"
"I told you already, Emma. You must choose between darkness and eternal light. I am that eternal light." The mist morphed into fingers. It beckoned her towards the light. "Come, join me…"
ƥαṇdαηθνε| Captivated by the light, she started moving. When she hesitated once, the cold fingers of the mist landed on her shoulders and pulled her further towards the light. Another voice sounded from the dark, "Why are you leaving her with me?" It was that of her father. "Take her back. I can't handle her or nurse her. Take her back!"
"I can't take her with me, Drogo," a sweet voice replied. "She will be hunted…"
Emma flinched. The cold hands of mist touched her and Emma realized that she was crying.
"Is this her?" another strange voice asked from somewhere in the dark mist. And this voice was not familiar to her.
"This is Emma, mine and Kara's daughter," her father said.
Karsha… Emma's tears choked her emotions when she heard her mother's name for the first time. But why did she abandon her?
"Mother," she called her but her voice was like that of a baby. "Mommy!" she squealed.
"Yes baby."
Shouts from outside drew her.
"There she is!"
The mist in front of her rippled and shadows started reshaping. Mist grabbed onto her waist to pull her away from those voices.
"Come to me, Emma," the sweet voice sounded again. The light that was only a few meters ahead pulsed. "I am your eternal light."
Emma nodded. "I am coming…" she said in a baby's voice.
Suddenly, there was a loud shriek and Emma jerked open her eyes. She was in her tent, but it had collapsed over her head. Feeling trapped, she became panicky. The remnants of her nightmare didn't make sense but what was happening didn't make any sense either. "Lazarus!" she shouted. She struggled her way out and her eyes widened.
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